This morning was a special day for staff at Garfield Elementary - 19. They were treated to a catered breakfast from the Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation, but there was an extra surprise! The EF was also there to honor kindergarten teacher Jane Eilertson, who is the longest tenured teacher in the Sioux Falls School District. Jane has been teaching for 42 years, 40 of those years at Garfield Elementary! She says she still feels blessed to be able to serve the children of Garfield after all these years, and is looking forward to school starting tomorrow! Thank you, Jane, for you years of dedication and commitment to kids! Teachers like you are what make the SFSD Experience one-of-a-kind!
A big THANK YOU goes out to our partners at Architecture Incorporated for this year's SFSD t-shirts! Their generous donation allows for shirts to be distributed to staff District-wide, and they even helped hand some out this morning (in the rain)! These shirts represent the unity that is present throughout SFSD as we all work towards our shared goal: showing up for kids! Thank you Architecture Inc. for your continued support and commitment to staff and students!
If you have a student who went to open house at Hayward Elementary this evening, they may have the distinct pleasure of meeting Jen! Jen is new to the District and is ready to go for the first day of school in two days! Welcome to SFSD!
We're on the home stretch to the first day of school! Tonight, we welcome middle school students to open houses. Tomorrow, elementary student open house. And we also welcome Drew, who will be teaching at R.F Pettigrew Elementary! Thanks for being a part of the SFSD Experience, Drew!
Bison Roundup. Wolverine Day. Panther Preview Night. Middle school open houses are happening TONIGHT. Please check with your school for times to stop by to meet your teachers and get important information for the upcoming school year.
Elementary school open houses are happening TOMORROW! Again, please check with your school for specific times. We're looking forward to seeing our school hallways fill up with staff and students this week!
Let's give a hearty South Dakota welcome to Kimberly! She is joining SFSD from out of state and will be teaching at Hawthorne Elementary. Thank you for being a part of our mission to make the Sioux Falls School District the best school district in the nation!
Howard Wood Field is going to start getting really busy, really soon! This year we're excited to roll out a brand new safety screening procedure for guests to HWF that will streamline entry into the field. Simply walk through the pylons, and that's it! For more information, please view this video: https://youtu.be/7oNho95xpyY
Today we're meeting Nolan, who will be teaching music at Memorial Middle School! Nolan's passion for music and the arts is sure to shine through and inspire students to get in touch with their creative sides. Welcome to SFSD!
We're calling on all incoming kindergarten students (and families) to tune in to the latest episode of Spotlight: Conversations from the Sioux Falls School District! 📣 In this episode we meet Ren, who will be starting kindergarten in just a few days! Dr. Stavem has great advice for what all incoming kindergarteners can expect at their new schools, and we go over the important stuff, like how awesome ice cream, donuts, and unicorns are. Tune in here or on Spotify!
https://youtu.be/LjDrb_8Vn0E
Let's start the weekend out with an amazing story. This story is about Lonny and Michael. Lonny drives a lunch truck, ending his delivery route each day at Rosa Parks. Michael, a student at Rosa Parks, loves trucks. Lonny is the embodiment of what we're calling "The SFSD Experience". Please take eight and a half minutes of out of your day to watch this joyous story as we prepare for the upcoming school year. https://youtu.be/eqVyNZ9rGI4
The countdown continues! All SFSD teachers are BACK at school and busy getting everything prepared for next Thursday, including Mallory, who will be teaching at R.F Pettigrew Elementary! Welcome to the Sioux Falls School District, Mallory!
We are officially one week away from the first day of school! Meet Ryan, who will be teaching at Memorial Middle School. Ryan mentions his favorite teachers at Roosevelt High School and the Teacher Pathway Program as inspirations for choosing to teach. We love to see it!
In today's New Teacher Feature we meet Macey, who will be teaching at Hayward Elementary! Special guest appearance from Mrs. Dykstra at John Harris Elementary! It's hard to overstate the impact teachers can have on a student's life, and we're proud to have teachers like Macey passing on the encouragement to future generations. Welcome to SFSD!
We're counting ⏱️ down the days to the first day of 🏫 school 🎉! Every day between now and Thursday, August 22, we'll introduce you to one of SFSD's newest 🍎 teachers! Katelyn is returning to teach in the District, 📓 and we couldn't be happier to have her back. T-minus 9 days to go! ⏰
Looking for a new opportunity? 🚍 Join School Bus Inc. this Thursday for on-the-spot interviews for school bus drivers and aides! 🚌
🎒 Bonus! Bring a teacher supply and get a FREE Back to School photo taken by a professional photographer! 📸 Plus, enjoy free smoothies and coffee while you’re here! ☕️🥤
This morning the Sioux Falls Public Schools Education Foundation surprised 70 new, first-year teachers with $200 First Time Teacher Grants during orientation! Teachers are able to use these grants to purchase materials to get their classrooms ready for the school year. The Education Foundation started this program in 2011, and with the announcement this morning, they will have awarded more than 1,000 First Time Teacher Grants! What a wonderful way to kick things off for the upcoming school year!
Yesterday was the last day of the Summer CLC Program. Students at the Robert Frost site got to celebrate with some water bounce house festivities. A big THANK YOU to the CLC community partners who make this out-of-school-time care possible: the Boys and Girls Club of the Sioux Empire, Volunteers of America, Dakotas, EmBe, and the Sioux Falls Family YMCA. Schools buildings will now get a week and a half deep clean to be all set to welcome students on Thursday, August 22nd!
This morning, the SFSD Office of Indian Education welcomed students and families back with an open house! Lots of excitement starting to bubble up as students begin to get supplies together for the upcoming school year. See you in the classroom soon!
This morning was filled with conversation and collaboration as SFSD welcomed elementary administrators and instructional coaches back. Buildings will be well prepared for the return of teachers next week, and the first day of school, which is exactly two weeks away!
Next up on the “Welcome Back” list for the upcoming school year: substitute teachers! We had a packed house this morning full of substitutes for the 2024-25 school year. These dedicated professionals are crucial to ensuring a smooth-running school day, and they show up for students when it’s most important. Thank you, substitutes, for everything you do! We’ll see you in the classroom soon!
